ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Education
Artificial Intelligence
The National Education Policy 2020  has recommended concerted curricular and pedagogical initiatives, including the introduction of contemporary subjects such as Artificial Intelligence, Design Thinking, Holistic Health, Organic Living, Environmental Education, Global Citizenship Education , etc. at relevant stages. Accordingly, various steps have been taken up for improving the quality of teacher education such as introduction of the  Four Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme  and NISHTHA Integrated Training Programme versions 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 have been introduced for different stages of school education for Teachers, Head Teachers/Principals and other stakeholders in Educational Management. NISHTHA training programme is administered online through DIKSHA portal, which integrates AI solutions to facilitate self-paced learning and close monitoring. Meanwhile, the Central Board of Secondary Education  has introduced Artificial Intelligence as a subject in Class IX from the session 2019-2020 and in Class XI from the session 2020-2021 in their affiliated schools.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
National Overseas Scholarship
Certain changes have been made in the NOS scheme guidelines 2021 guided by the need for simplifying the procedures and to make the process more transparent. Also, since there was greater demand for study in science and technology fields and in order to better utilise the resources, scholarships were prioritized for those subjects in greater demand. It was felt that the fields of study where India has strength or where the field work is to be done in India can be left out of the list.
Accordingly, topics/courses concerning Indian Culture, Heritage, History & Social studies on India where substantial portion of the field work is in India, are not being considered for award of scholarships from 2022-23 onwards, whereas other subjects under Humanities/Social Sciences which need international exposure such as Law, Economics, Psychology etc are still available for funding. This change has provided more opportunities for the poor SC students to study in global best universities.
The number of students selected for the National Overseas Scholarship for the past five years is given at Annexure.
The rationale for imposing an income limit of Rs 8 lakh per annum as an eligibility criteria is ordained in the objective of the NOS scheme which is to facilitate the low income students belonging to the Scheduled Castes, Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers and Traditional Artisans category to obtain higher education from the best universities in the world and thereby help in improving their economic and social status.
Annexure
- Department of Social Justice and Empowerment

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Sr. No.
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YEAR
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Stipulated No. of slots
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No. of candidates selected
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1
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2017-18
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100
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183|
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2
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2018-19
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100
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100
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3
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2019-20
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100
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100
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4
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2020-21
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100
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100
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5
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2021-22
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125
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125vacant slots of previous years were carried over
B. Department for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities 

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Year
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No. of beneficiaries
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2017-18
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2
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2018-19
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5
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2019-20
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6
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2020-21
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7
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2021-22
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9
This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri A. Narayanaswamy in the Rajya Sabha in a written reply today.
Vice President's Secretariat
Recognizing one’s merit is part of Indian culture: VP
Our civilization is the oldest and has survived for so long because of our firm belief in the power of love and peace;
Awards and recognition would inspire more youngsters to excel;
We must strive to put an end to the abhorrent practice of discrimination. It is atrocious to think about caste at this day and age;
Presented the Jashn-E-Youngistan Awards.
‘Recognizing one’s merit is part of Indian culture’. The Vice President of India Shri. M Venkaiah Naidu said today. He was addressing the gathering at the ‘Jashn-E-Youngistan’ event organized by the News 24 Channel here in New Delhi today. Jashn-E-Youngistan honored those promising young stars who have made their mark in their respective fields of achievement.
The Vice President expressed hope that such awards would inspire other youngsters to excel. Shri. Naidu spoke of the great demographic dividend at the cusp of which India stands today and added that we must do our best to empower the youth of our country.
Shri. Naidu said that India was once known as the ‘Vishwa Guru’, the teacher to the world. He added that India has also always been known for its liberal attitude. ‘We believe in the philosophy of ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’. Share and care is core of Indian philosophy’ he said.
Applauding the novelty of the idea of Jashn-E-Youngistan, Shri. Naidu reasoned that the enrichment of the softer aspects of our society through arts and other cultural pursuits would only add to India’s growth and prosperity. He added that we must therefore encourage and promote human endeavor in these fields.
The Vice President said that our civilization is the oldest and has survived for so long because of our firm belief in the power of love and peace and because of the values of empathy and kindness that is inherent in our cultural tradition.
Expressing concern about the rising violence in the world, Shri. Naidu hoped that India’s neighbors would stand by us in our quest for peace and prosperity. He also said that we have to transform the nation for the betterment of all people.
The Vice President called on youth to participate actively in the momentous task of nation building. ‘There is enormous interest in India’s growth story around the world. India is the fastest growing economy’ he added.
The Vice President said that awards such as these would encourage people to take inspiration from the remarkable stories of the youth icons who have excelled in art, science, music, cinema and other fields.
Shri. Naidu spoke about the need for government programs and schemes such as Swachch Bharat, Beti Bachao, Clean India which are meant for the welfare of all people to become mass movements to realize their actual goals.
Denouncing discrimination in all forms, Shri. Naidu said that we must strive to put an end to such abhorrent practices. He added that it is atrocious to think about caste at this day and age.
He opined that the media should follow some standards and said that News and views should not be mixed. ‘Allow people to decide what is good and what is bad’, he added.
Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas
Global Crude oil price of Indian Basket was US$ 60.86 per bbl on 20.11.2017
 under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas was US$ 60.86 per barrel  on 20.11.2017. This was higher than the price of US$ 60.27 per bbl on previous publishing day of 17.11.2017.
In rupee terms, the price of Indian Basket increased to Rs 3959.17 per bbl on 20.11.2017 as compared to Rs. 3908.55 per bbl on 17.11.2017. Rupee closed weaker at Rs. 65.06 per US$ on 20.11.2017 as compared to 64.85 per US$ on 17.11.2017. The table below gives details in this regard:
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Particulars
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Unit
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Price on November 20, 2017 
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Crude Oil 
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60.86 
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3959.17 
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Exchange Rate
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65.06 
AD/SA Daily Crude Oil Price
Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying
Rearing and Maintenance of Milch Animals under White Revolution
The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying is implementing Rashtriya Gokul Mission  for development and conservation of indigenous breeds, genetic upgradation of bovine population and enhancement of milk production and productivity of bovines in the country since 2014. The following key measures have been taken to boost milk production and income of cattle rearers under RGM:
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Nationwide Artificial Insemination Programme for extension of Artificial Insemination coverage.
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Progeny testing and pedigree selection for production of high genetic merit bulls of indigenous breeds.
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Establishment of Breed Multiplication Farms preferably of indigenous breeds.
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Promotion of In-vitro Fertilization  technology for faster genetic upgradation of indigenous breeds.
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Implementation of genomic selection using genomic chip.
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Sex sorted semen production for indigenous breeds.
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Funds have been released to the States for establishment of 16 Gokul and 2 National Kamdhenu Breeding Centres.
Dairying is sustainable activity in rural India as it is playing important role in providing livelihood support to more than 8 crore rural households engaged in dairying mainly small and marginal farmers and landless labours. As per National Account Statistics 2022, the value of output of milkhas increased by 88.88% between 2014-15 to 2021-22.
As per Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2022  the total milk production in the country is 221.06 millionmetric tonnes. Department had conducted a study on Demand of Milk and Milk Products in India underNational Dairy Plan Phase I and as per the study the estimated demandprojections of milk and milk products for the year 2030 at All India level is 266.5 million metrictonnes.
This information was given by Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
India’s 61% of Daily New Cases contributed by Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh
44,489 new confirmed COVID cases have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country. Of these, 60.72% is contributed by six States/UT i.e. Kerala, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
Kerala leads the tally with 6,491 new COVID cases. Maharashtra has reported 6,159 new cases, while Delhi registered another 5,246 new cases in the last 24 hours.
60.50% of the 524 case fatalities reported in the past 24 hours are concentrated in six States/UTs- Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Maharashtra, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal are the common states among the top six states contributing maximum to new cases as well as daily deaths.
Delhi with 99 deaths reported the maximum new fatalities. Maharashtra saw a fatality count of 65 followed by West Bengal with 51 deaths.
India’s present active caseload  is 4.88% of the total Positive Cases, and has been sustained below the 5% mark.
65% of the active cases are in 8 States/UTs which have contributed to the maximum daily new cases and the daily highest deaths.
61% of the total deaths are concentrated in these 8 States/UT.
The cases per million figures of these 8 States/UTs compared to the national average  are as follows:
The following shows Case Fatality Rate  in these 8 States/UT as compared to the national average .
Total recovered cases in India are nearing 87 lakhs . The national recovery rate stands at 93.66% today. 36,367 recoveries have been registered in the last 24 hours in the country.
15 States/UTs have Recovery Rate more than the national average.
20 States/UTs have reported Recovery Rate less than the national average.
Ministry of Education
Internationalisation of Higher Education
To promote India as global study destination and Internationalisation NEP 2020 stipulates various measures, which inter alia includes facilitating research / teaching collaborations and faculty /student exchange with high-quality foreign HEI and signing of relevant mutually beneficial MOUs with foreign countries; encouraging high performing Indian universities to set up campuses in other countries; selected universities e.g., those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India; setting up of International Student Office at each HEI for welcoming and supporting students arriving from abroad; counting credits acquired in foreign universities, wherever appropriate as per requirement for each HEI; and courses and programmes in subjects, such as Indology, Indian Languages, AYUSH systems of medicines, yoga, arts etc.
In line with the recommendations of National Education Policy , 2020, several measures have been initiated to strengthen Internationalization of the Higher Education, such as:
- Guidelines on Internationalization of Higher Education were notified by UGC in July, 2021 that includes provisions like setting up of Office for International Affairs and Alumni Connect Cell in the campus of Universities hosting foreign students.
- 179 Universities have established Office for International Affairs and 158 Universities have set up Alumni Connect Cells.
- In order to foster academic collaboration between Indian HEIs and foreign HEIs, “University Grants Commission  Regulations, 2022” have been notified on 2nd May, 2022.
- World-class foreign universities and institutions will be allowed in the GIFT City, Gujarat to offer courses in Financial Management, FinTech, Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics free from domestic regulations, except those by International Financial Services Centres Authority  to facilitate availability of high-end human resources for financial services and technology.
- UGC Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities Regulations have been amended to allow Institutions of Eminence to set up Off-Shore campuses. The amendment to existing UGC institutions of Eminence Regulations delineates terms, conditions and approval process for establishment of Off-Shore campus by institutions of eminence  deemed to be universities.
The information was given by the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Subhas Sarkar in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs
More than 153.61 Crore vaccine doses provided to States/UTs
More than 19.10 Crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses still available with States/UTs
The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The nationwide COVID 19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the States and UTs by providing them COVID Vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalization of the COVID19 vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply  75% of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to States and UTs.
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VACCINE DOSES
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SUPPLIED
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1,53,61,99,605
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BALANCE AVAILABLE
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19,10,08,096
More than 153.61 crore  vaccine doses have been provided to States/UTs so far through Govt. of India  and through direct state procurement category.
More than 19.10 Cr  balance and unutilized COVID Vaccine doses are still available with the States/UTs to be administered.
Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates and addresses the Investor Summit - “Opportunities and Partnerships in Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices”
“Pharma industry is not just a business in India; it is connected to our sentiments and guided by the philosophy of Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam”
“PLI scheme for the Pharma sector will give a boost to the industry and has potential to make India a Pharma hub”
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare and Chemicals & Fertilizers Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya today inaugurated and addressed the Investor Summit - “Opportunities and Partnerships in Pharmaceuticals & Medical Devices” via video conferencing. The summit was organized by Department of Pharmaceuticals, in partnership with Invest India as part of the vision to further strengthen India’s position globally in terms of Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices.
Expressing his happiness, Dr. Mandaviya said that India is rightly called the pharmacy of the world. It is the largest manufacturer and supplier of the generic medicines. During COVID, it supplied medicines to more than 150 countries of the world. It shows that pharma industry is not just a business in India; it is connected with our sentiments. It is not governed with only profit motive but is guided by the Indian philosophy of “Vasudhaiv Kutumbkam”.
He said that under Make in India Project, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has invited investors from all across the world to invest in India. He assured investors that they will be treated fairly in India, given its robust regulatory mechanism, independent judiciary and democratic form of Government. He said that under the able leadership of Prime Minister, India strives to become the best investment destination in the world for pharma sector. The sector has witnessed a substantial increase in investments. FDI increased 98% year on year in 2020. Pharma exports from India grew by 18% in the last financial year.
Enlisting the various policies, schemes and initiatives of the government to encourage pharma industries, Dr. Mandaviya said that Production Linked Incentive  scheme for the pharma sector will give a boost to the industry and has potential to make India a pharma hub. He underlined the fact that India is going to become a huge market for medicines and medical devices. He added that under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, 10 crore families will benefit. This will create demand for more drugs and medical devices, which will benefit the pharma industries in India.
Welcoming all the industry captains and investors, Secretary, Department of Pharmaceuticals said that with proven quality manufacturing capabilities and constant support of the government, India is poised to achieve the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat in Pharma sector.
Senior officers of the Department of pharmaceuticals and Invest India were present at the event.
Ministry of Science & Technology
Annual General Body Meeting of Society of the National Institute of Immunology
The Annual General Body Meeting of Society of the National Institute of Immunology  was held on 14.11.21 and Dr.Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Science & Technology presided over the meeting.
Dr. Pushkar Sharma, Director in- charge, NII presented the work done by the institution in understanding fundamental processes that regulate inflammation, pathogenesis, ageing and immune response. He mentioned that the focus has been on various areas of research including infection and immunity, molecular design, gene regulation and reproduction and development, where cutting edge research in modern biology is being carried out employing multiple overlapping disciplines of modern biology.
He mentioned that significant efforts have been made towards transitional research specifically for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine. He further mentioned that the inactivated virus vaccine BBV152/Covaxin elicits robust cellular immune memory to SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern- Delta, Alpha, Beta and Gamma, which persist at least up to 6 months. NII has also provided services for COVID-19 research. Under this program, 65 MLTs/Lab Technicians were trained in various aspects of COVID-19 training. There have been more than 30,000 samples screened so far and the positive samples have been sent for genome sequencing. Hon’ble Minister appreciated the research work carried out by the institute during the last 40 years.
Dr. Sharma further elaborated that NII has also developed a collagen based herbal formulation for osteoarthritis . The formulation  contains a bioactive collagen peptide and alcoholic extract of two exotic Himalayan plants. He further added that the institute is also part of Indo-European Consortium for Next Generation Influenza Vaccination. The institution is part of the group working on COBRA  vaccine. It will be developed by analyzing the sequence of influenza strains over a decade covering seasonal and pandemic strains. Based on the research from the last two decades it is suggested that COBRA vaccine is expected provide protection against seasonal flu, all the pandemic strains of flu and any emerging flu strains. State of art NHP-ABSL3 facility is being built within NII campus for the study, which will also be shared by other researchers in the country.
Dr. Sharma also highlighted that achievements of the research have been published and patented as well. NII has also been regularly conducting online webinars for the college and school students through their Science Setu program. The institution is conducting faculty lecture series, colloquium lectures and guest lecturers regularly. NII will also establish a science museum in one of the aspirational districts designated by NITI Aayog.
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Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Para Military Forces now to use Khadi in Uniforms
The Khadi and Village Industries products will get a major boost as Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has recently instructed the Director Generals of all para-military forces to use Khadi Fabric in their uniforms and Village Industries products such as pickles, papad, honey, soaps and detergents, shampoos, phenol, tea, mustard oil etc. in their canteens.
The move comes after several meetings were held between the authorities of KVIC and the para-military forces. Sources said that the meetings had been going on since last two weeks now and have reached the stage of finalization, after several samples were shared by KVIC for approval.
The Chairman, KVIC informed that the samples of cotton and woollen uniforms, blankets and camouflage uniform etc. provided by the para-military forces have been developed by KVIC and have been submitted to few forces for final approval. It is noteworthy that the sample developed for camouflage fabric was not only liked by one of the para-military forces but was also found quite superior from the existing material used by the forces.
Enthused with the recent instructions given by the Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah to the DG's of all para-military forces, for using Khadi fabric in their uniforms, KVIC Chairman, Vinai Kumar Saxena said, “This move will not only double the Khadi and Village Industries turnover which is nearly Rs. 75,000 Crores currently, but also create millions of additional man hours for the Khadi artisans who will weave millions of meters of Khadi fabric for our para-military forces”.
Ministry of Education
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan to kickstart public consultation on National Credit framework tomorrow
Union Education & Skill Development Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level meeting with the committee preparing National Credit Framework for School Education, Higher Education and Skilling here today. Secretary, School Education, Smt Anita Karwal; Secretary, Higher Education Shri Sanjay Murthy; Chairman, NCVET; Shri Dr. Nirmaljeet Singh Kalsi and senior officials of the Education and Skill Development Ministry attended the meeting.
Shri Pradhan gave his consent to start the process of public consultation on the National Credit Framework from tomorrow i.e. 19th October, 2022.
The Government of India had approved the constitution of a High-Level Committee, vide order dated 18th November 2021, to develop a National Credit Accumulation & Transfer Framework for both Vocational and General Education. The Credit Framework would enable the integration of academic and vocational domains/components of learning and ensure flexibility and mobility between the two.